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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Sunday, December 2, 2018 3B
JEFFREY MCWHORTER I Associated Press
Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray (1) celebrates after beating Texas 39-27 in the Big 12 Conference
championship Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
Sooners get it done
Kyler Murrays 379 passing yards power No. 5 Oklahoma
to Big 12 Championship victory over No. 9 Longhorns
BY STEPHEN HAWKINS
Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas — Kyler
Murray threw for 379 yards and
three touchdowns as No. 5 Okla
homa beat No. 9 Texas 39-27 in
the Big 12 championship game
Saturday, with the Sooners aveng
ing their only loss and making their
case for a return to the College
Football Playoff.
Murray, the Heisman Trophy-
contending dual-threat quarter
back who was 25-of-34 passing,
threw two of his TDs to Grant
Calcaterra. That included an
impressive one-handed grab for
an 18-yard score on a
third-and-10 play with two
minutes left as the Sooners
(12-1, No. 5 CFP) won their
seventh consecutive game.
“That catch will live on
in Oklahoma history for
ever,” coach Lincoln Riley
said. “What a play.”
Oklahoma is the first
Power Five team to win
four consecutive outright confer
ence titles since Florida in the SEC
in the mid-1990s.
“We’re thrilled by the victory.
It’s been a challenging year, which
they all are,” Riley said. “But to sit
here now as four-time defending
Big 12 champion, man, that sounds
good.”
Sam Ehlinger was 23-of-36 pass
ing for 349 yards with two touch
downs, and he also ran for two
scores for Texas (9-4), but his final
pass was picked off by Tre Nor
wood at the 1 in the final minute.
The Sooners went ahead to stay
on Austin Seibert’s third field goal,
a 31-yarder with 12:37 left that was
good after ricocheting off the top of
the left upright to make it 30-27.
Two plays after Oklahoma’s only
turnover, when receiver CeeDee
Lamb fumbled inside the 10 after
a 54-yard catch-and-run with nine
minutes left, the Sooners got points
anyway. Cornerback Tre Brown
blitzed and sacked Ehlinger in the
end zone for a safety.
“Our defense did a great job get
ting the ball back to us, offensively
we didn’t take care of our part of
the bargain,” Ehlinger said. “That’s
on us, that’s on me. I will make it
my mission to never let this team or
this school feel this disappointment
again.”
It was a huge play for a much-
maligned Sooners defense that had
allowed at least 40 points in each of
the previous four games —
three of those OU wins by a
combined nine points.
Lamb finished with
six catches for 167 yards,
including a 28-yard touch
down in the first half.
The 114th meeting
between the Red River
rivals was their first in a
championship game —
and the first time since 1903 they
had played twice in the same sea
son. Every game since 1929 had
been played about 20 miles away at
the State Fair of Texas, where the
Longhorns beat Oklahoma 48-45
eight weeks ago.
Oklahoma never trailed after
Murray threw TDs on its last two
drives before halftime for a 20-14
lead, on Calcaterra’s 6-yard TD
pass in the final minute when the
Sooners were out of timeouts but
went 80 yards in five plays.
The Sooners were up 27-21 until
Ehlinger threw a 5-yard TD to
Lil’Jordan Humphrey with 2:44 left
in the third quarter. But the extra
point that would have put Texas
ahead was partially blocked and
clanged off the crossbar no good.
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas: The Longhorns have
come a long way in two seasons
under coach Tom Herman. They
were coming off three consecu
tive losing seasons for the first time
since the 1930s when he became
coach. Herman said it is difficult
after a loss, and with still a game
to play, to reflect on the season and
just how much progress has been
made.
“We earned the right to play in a
big-time bowl game,” Herman said.
Oklahoma: The Sooners won
their 12th overall Big 12 title. They
are the only Big 12 team that has
made it into the College Football
Playoff, going in 2015 and again
last season with Heisman Trophy
winning quarterback Baker May-
field. They haven’t made it to a
CFP title game.
RECEIVING RECORD
Texas WR Collin Johnson set a
Big 12 championship game record
with his 177 yards receiving on
eight catches. He had a 27-yard TD
catch in the third quarter on a drive
when he also had catches of 25 and
21 runs.
UP NEXT
Texas will go to its first Sugar
Bowl since 1995 if Oklahoma gets
into the College Football Playoff.
If not, the Longhorns are likely
headed to the Alamo Bowl.
Oklahoma waits to find out if it
gets into the College Football Play
off, which could mean playing in
the same stadium in four weeks for
the Cotton Bowl. If not, the Sooners
go to the Sugar Bowl to play an SEC
team.
Riley
Clemson wins 4th straight ACC title
BY MATT CONNOLLY
The State
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Clemson’s
ACC dominance is alive and well
and doesn’t appear to be slowing
down anytime soon.
The Tigers crushed Pitt, 42-10,
Saturday afternoon at Bank of
America Stadium to clinch their
fourth consecutive ACC champion
ship. Clemson also clinched a spot
in the College Football Playoff for
the fourth consecutive year with
the victory. The Tigers are likely
to be the No. 2 seed when the Col
lege Football Playoff rankings are
released Sunday afternoon.
Clemson will either play in Dal
las or Miami in the playoff against
an unknown opponent on Dec. 29.
The battle between the second-
ranked Tigers and the 7-5 Panthers
was a mismatch on paper, and
that’s the way the game played out.
Clemson running back Travis
Etienne scored on a 75-yard touch
down run on the first play of the
game and went on to rush for 156
yards and two touchdowns on 12
carries.
The Tigers led 28-10 at the half
as Etienne scored from 3 yards out
and Trevor Lawrence (12-for-24,
118 yards) tossed a pair of touch
down passes to Tee Higgins.
Clemson’s defense helped to
set up two of Clemson’s first-half
scores. Isaiah Simmons hit Pitt
quarterback Kenny Pickett from
behind in the first quarter and
forced a fumble, which was recov
ered by Christian Wilkins and
returned 18 yards to the Pitt 3. Eti
enne scored on the next play.
The Tigers led 21-10 with less
than a minute remaining in the first
half when Pickett was picked off by
Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell.
The sophomore returned the inter
ception 31 yards to the Pitt 10.
Knights keep
on winning
Backup QB
Mack leads
UCF to AAC
title victory
BY MATT MURSCHEL
The Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO, Fla. — Through
its 24-game winning streak,
UCF has answered countless
challenges.
Through thick and thin,
through double-digit deficits and
debilitating injuries, the Knights
have taken everyone’s best
shot and somehow, someway
survived.
Even when faced with its big
gest challenge to date: down 17
points to Memphis in the Ameri
can Athletic Conference Cham
pionship Game Saturday and
without their star quarterback
McKenzie Milton, the Knights
somehow, someway mounted
an epic comeback and beat the
Tigers, 56-41.
“This group handles adversity
better than any group that I’ve
been around,” UCF coach Josh
Heupel told the ABC broadcast
team after the win. “ ... This is a
championship team.”
Backup quarterback
Darriel Mack Jr. scored
six total touchdowns in
just his second career
start as No. 8 UCF out-
scored Memphis 35-3
in the second half to
remain undefeated and
capture its second con
secutive conference
championship.
Things didn’t look so good for
the Knights at the start.
Memphis recovered a Mack
fumble at UCF’s 27-yard line and
two plays later, running back
Darrell Henderson rumbled in
from 12 yards out for another
touchdown to push the lead to
14-0.
UCF rebounded on its next
possession, with the Knights driv
ing 65 yards on a drive capped
by a 14-yard touchdown run by
Greg McCrae that sliced into the
lead to 14-7.
But those good feelings didn’t
last long as Tigers running back
Patrick Taylor outraced the UCF
defense, scoring on a 72-yard
touchdown run that
pushed the Memphis
back ahead 21-7 midway
through the first quarter.
Mack moved the UCF
offense downfield on
the next possession, but
he was pressured on a
third-and-five and fum
bled the football away
for the second time.
Memphis drove down
to the UCF 19-yard line before
settling for a 36-yard field goal
by Riley Patterson that extended
the Tigers’ lead to 24-7.
UCF put together its best
offensive possession of the game,
driving 72 yards before Mack
took it upon himself to rush six
yards in for the score.
But as he dove into the end
zone, he was hit and the ball
flipped out. Tight end Michael
Colubiale eventually recov
ered the football for the UCF
touchdown.
Henderson once again
delivered a crushing blow for
Memphis, this time scoring an
81-yard touchdown run on the
second play of the Tigers’ next
possession.
It extended Memphis’ lead to
31-14 with 11:24 left in the first
half.
Henderson racked up 166
yards and three touchdowns on
just six carries at that point.
UCF cut the lead to 31-21 with
just under three minutes left in
the first half after the Knights
drove 90 yards before Mack
JOHN RAOUXI Associated Press
Central Florida quarterback Darriel
Mack Jr. looks for a receiver during
the American Athletic Conference
championship game, Saturday, in
Orlando, Fla.
would loft a pass to redshirt soph
omore Jake Hescock in the back
of the end zone for a four-yard
score.
It was Mack’s first career
touchdown and it cut the lead to
10.
After the score, Heupel paced
the sidelines waving his hands
into the air trying to get the
crowd amped up for the defense.
But after the Knights forced
a three-and-out, Otis
Anderson fumbled the
punt and Memphis took
over at the UCF 31-yard
line. Five plays later,
Henderson took the
snap out of the Wildcat
formation and lofted a
four-yard pass to Sean
Dykes that extended the
lead to 38-21.
As they have all season, the
Knights regrouped at half
time and won the pivotal third
quarter.
UCF took the second-half kick
off and drove to its own 46-yard
line before Mack connected with
Otis Anderson down the left side
for a 54-yard touchdown that cut
the lead to 38-28 with 12 minutes
left in the third quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out,
Anderson gave the Knights a
spark, returning a punt 43 yards
into Memphis territory.
Mack did the rest, diving into
the end zone for four-yard touch
down that cut the lead to 38-35.
Memphis added a field goal to
extend the lead to 41-35
but Mack once again
stepped up after lead
ing UCF on a long drive,
finding the end zone on a
two-yard touchdown run
that gave the Knights the
first lead of the game at
42-41.
UCF then hit the gas
and never looked back,
shutting out the Tigers while
extending their lead in front of a
raucous crowd.
Amid the No. 10 jerseys and
leis honoring Milton, television
cameras captured his mom
streaming the closing seconds
of the game and jubilant post
game celebration for her son via
FaceTime.
The Knights remain perfect
and will wait to learn their bowl
fate Sunday.
Thanks to a weaker strength
of schedule, most expect UCF
to earn a bid in a New Year’s Six
Access Bowl rather than claim
ing a playoff semifinal bid and
a chance to play for a national
title.
Heupel was asked what he
would like to say to the selection
committee.
He told the ABC broadcast
team, “You look at what this
program’s done for two straight
years. This team’s got the heart
of a champion. They deserve to
go prove it on the field.”
Heupel
Mack
champion Oklahoma avenged its only loss
by beating Texas, and No. 6 Ohio State still
had a chance to make its case in the Big
Ten title game.
This was another galling loss for Saban’s
former assistant, Kirby Smart. He’s quickly
built Georgia into a national powerhouse,
but he keeps coming up short against his
ex-boss.
For the second time in about 11 months,
the Bulldogs squandered a double-digit lead
to the Crimson Tide. While this one didn’t
end with the suddenness of that national
title game, it hurt just as bad. They had
had another chance to knock off the team
that had been No. 1 in the polls all season,
a team that has built perhaps the greatest
rivalry in college football history.
Again, it slipped away.
“With a team like that, you’ve got to be
able to put them way because they keep
hanging on,” Georgia tight end Isaac Nauta
said. “They’ve been doing it for a lot of
years.”
Georgia’s Jake Fromm threw for
301 yards and three touchdowns, while
Tagovailoa was only 10 of 25 for 164 yards.
The Alabama quarterback had a pair of
interceptions, matching his total for the
entire season, though he did spark the
comeback with a 51-yard touchdown pass
to Jaylen Waddle late in the third quarter,
cutting Georgia’s lead to 28-21.
Hurts took it from there.
THE TAKEAWAY
Alabama: This was the sort of challenge
that should serve the Crimson Tide well in
the College Football Playoff. The Crimson
Tide had not been in serious trouble all sea
son, beating everyone by at least 22 points,
but they showed plenty of grit when finally
challenged by the Bulldogs. Alabama was
outgained in total yards (454-403) and domi
nated in time of possession (Georgia held
the ball for more than 35 minutes), but
Saban’s team found a way to do what it does
better than anyone: win.
Georgia: The Bulldogs will be kicking
themselves for the way they let this one
slip away. Twice, on third-and-short with
a chance to extend drives, they failed to
convert. The fake punt was a baffling deci
sion — a direct snap to backup quarterback
Justin Fields, who looked like he wanted to
throw, took off running and didn’t come
close to picking up the first down. That gave
Alabama a short field to work with on its
Alabama: The Crimson Tide heads to the
College Football Playoff for the fifth year
in a row, undoubtedly as the No. 1 seed and
the favorite to win another national title.
Alabama will be in the semifinals and is
expected to play in the Cotton Bowl. The
opponent could be Oklahoma, Ohio State
or maybe even Georgia. Saban endorsed
the Bulldogs for a spot in the playoff, saying
“they’re one of the four best teams in the
country.”
Georgia: The Bulldogs are hoping to land
a playoff spot but will likely have to settle
for a trip to the Sugar Bowl as a consolation
prize.
No. 1 Alabama 35, No. 4 Georgia 28
Alabama 0 14 7 14—35
Georgia 7 14 7 0—28
First Quarter
UGA—Nauta 20 pass from Fromm (Blankenship kick), 3:08
Second Quarter
BAMA—Jacobs 1 run (Bulovas kick), 14:56
UGA—Swift 9 run (Blankenship kick), 7:31
UGA—Swift 11 pass from Fromm (Blankenship kick), 4:05
BAMA—Jacobs 1 fumble recovery (Bulovas kick), 2:18
Third Quarter
UGA—Ridley 23 pass from Fromm (Blankenship kick), 12:39
BAMA—Waddle 51 pass from Tagovailoa (Bulovas kick), 3:02
Fourth Quarter
BAMA—Jeudy 10 pass from Hurts (Bulovas kick), 5:19
BAMA—Hurts 15 run (Bulovas kick), 1:04
BAMA
UGA
First downs
21
23
Rushes-yards
29-157
39-153
Passing
246
301
Comp-Att-Int
17-34-2
25-40-0
Return Yards
36
83
Punts-Avg.
5-37.0
6-32.0
Fumbles-Lost
3-0
1-0
Penalties-Yards
3-10
6-50
Time of Possession
24:30
35:30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Alabama, Jacobs 8-83, D.Harris 9-52, Hurts 5-28, N.Harris 4-15,
Tagovailoa 3-(minus 21). Georgia, Swift 16-75, Holyfield 14-60, Stanley 1-12,
Fields 3-6, Simmons 1-2, Fromm 4-(minus 2).
PASSING—Alabama, Tagovailoa 10-25-2-164, Hurts 7-9-0-82. Georgia,
Fields 0-1-0-0, Fromm 25-39-0-301.
RECEIVING—Alabama, Waddle 4-113, Ruggs 3-49, I.Smith 3-35, D.Smith
3- 26, Jeudy 3-24, D.Harris 1-(minus 1). Georgia, Swift 6-63, Ridley 5-59, Nauta
4- 81, Godwin 3-24, Holloman 2-37, Woerner 2-12, Hardman 1-10, Simmons
1-8, Cook 1-7.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Georgia, Blankenship 30.
winning drive.
UP NEXT
